Social Media and Book Video Distribution

I attended PodCamp Ohio this past weekend where I gave a talk on the topic of online video distribution. We discussed how to identify your target audience, where to find them and how to win them over. We also talked about what online sites are great for video.

I was happy with the turn out for my talk and the fact that the audience participated by asking questions and making comments. All in all it was a great trip and I hope to attend next year.

COS Productions helped to sponsor the PodCamp Ohio event. We were a sponsor of BEA this year, but no one asked "why" since it is obvious. We work in the publishing industry so BEA (Book Expo America) is a natural choice when we go to sponsor an event. But, PodCamp is important to us as well. PodCamp Ohio featured some great talks about new media, social media, trends, SEO and so many other wonderful topics. I learned a great deal and walked away with some great contacts there.

It was a little ironic that one of the main sponsors was Ohio State University's Center For The Study And Teaching of Writing. Ironic since COS Productions is also a book-centric company and a sponsor of PodCamp.

Blip.tv was a sponsor and I was encouraged to see that company be so active in a community event like this. Blip.tv is one of the biggest video sites and one of my personal favorites to distribute to because they offer so much by way of distribution platforms and analytics. They are leaders in what they do and what they offer.

Blubrry, which is a podcast site is also a favorite of mine. We send all of our podcasts there and get a fantastic response. Blubrry even gave out some cool little pins and I snagged one for my "nerd" collection, of which I am proud. lol

I hadn't heard of Spaceblue, AssistCoach.com or even TechSmith but these are all great companies who care about investing in the industry in which they serve. I was familiar with The Doctor Anonymous Show, which you should check out if you are interested in new media.

Other sponsors included Writers Talk, which is a radio show and I'm hoping to get some COS authors on that. Digital Disciples and td/Taviano Design were also sponsors.

It was great being surrounded by like-minded people. I did a quick poll when I addressed the assembly and found that over 50% of the attendees had already seen Star Trek. We all got a good laugh at it and it was wonderful to find that we could laugh at ourselves, be passionate about what we love and share our knowledge all in one day to the benefit of everyone.

During my talk I gave people handouts with links to a list of social media sites that they can put their videos on. I also gave them some TubeMogul t-shirts that went over great! Thank you to the great people over at TubeMogul for sending me t-shirts to give away at my talk.

I saw two people video taping my talk and I am hoping it gets posted online at some point. If it does I'll be sure to share the link!

I have a few more PodCamp stories to share this week so I hope you'll come back often!

Sheila Clover English
Circle of Seven Productions

Book Expo America the Remix

It was a long week and a fruitful one. Despite the doom and gloom predictions I saw a lot of action, meetings, signings and industry news in the making going on all week during BEA.

I attended as Press since I work for Reader's Entertainment and I planned on blogging during and after the event. But, I was there to promote my own business as well and paid the fee to have my material put in the high traffic areas of the registration desks. It was the best $500 I've spent on promotions this year. I saw an immediate return on investment with an increased amount of traffic to the COS websites.

I heard a lot of talk about social media. Once group said you have be present online the other group saying social media just doesn't sell books. My question is, how do they know that ads in magazines sell books when they aren't tracking that? How do we know what is working? It was interesting to hear the same old song and dance from the same people who continue to hold out, believing that online promotions will go away.

The best workshop I attended was put on by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. They were promoting their book Trust Agents which I highly recommend. The book talks about using the web to build your reputation and earn trust. There's a lot of great information in this book. If you're job takes you to the internet to interact you should pick this book up immediately!

I could not see where BEA suffered from any lack of participation. That doesn't mean that it didn't, or that those publishers who did not attend weren't missed. I just didn't see any indication that BEA was anything but successful. I walked out with information, ideas and over 100 pounds of books!

I will most certainly attend and invest again next year.